The US Capitol was locked down on Saturday following reports of a suicide on the west front of the building.
UPDATE: The protester was carrying a “Tax the One Percent” sign.
BREAKING! Man commits suicide on U.S. Capitol lawn, had ‘Tax the One Percent’ sign http://t.co/VWjgRwbgtB
— The Right Scoop (@TheRightScoop) April 11, 2015
On Monday the protester was identified.
Photo By (@Chels_Taddonio)
Far left protester Leo Thornton from Illinois shot himself in Washington DC on Saturday.
Patch.com reported:
The man who shot himself to death in front of the U.S. Capitol was identified Monday as Leo Thornton, 22, of Lincolnwood, a small north suburb just south of Skokie.
The Metropolitan Police Department said he shot himself Saturday on the west front of the Capitol building just after 1 p.m. Thornton was carrying a backpack, a suitcase and a protest sign. Police locked down the building for about two hours and searched his bags after the shooting.
The protest sign Thornton held reflected a “social justice” message, according U.S. Capitol Police Chief Kim C. Dine, who spoke at a press conference Saturday.
Police did not offer a motive for the suicidal shooting.